A recent international cricket scandal, where senior members of the Australian cricket team used sandpaper to rough up one side of the cricket ball, has deeply upset many Australians. Even our Prime Minister publically expressed his indignation. (Tampering with the ball in this way gives the bowler an unfair competitive advantage). Our distress was not about the little red  
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I’ve always been a messy person. Crumbs on floors, scuffs on shoes, smudges on windows — these things don’t bother me. And for years I have lived in peace with my mess. Then two weeks ago my wife had the cataracts removed from her eyes. At first I was delighted when I heard her comment enthusiastically “Look at that!” But now I cringe, because I no longer get away 
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Since founding the Franchise Relationships Institute 28 years ago I have been advocating that a mutually profitable partnership must be at the core of franchising. So I have not had a problem with the recent focus by the Australian media on poor franchise leadership practices by specific brands. I do however have a big problem with the way the media has been attacking the f 
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Because the Winter Olympics are ending, I thought it would be timely to share a few insights I gleaned from a workshop I attended with Aerial Ski coach, Dustin Wilson, on the psychology of high performance. Dustin has taken a number of skiers to Olympic gold, so he had my attention. There are many applications here for good franchise leadership, both for senior executives a 
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Franchising in Australia has been getting a bad run in the media lately. Imagine the media coverage if Australian franchisors decided to stop franchising. What might this look like? NATION TREMBLES AS FRANCHISING CLOSES The announcement that Australian franchisors are closing down their franchised operations has sent shock waves through the business and wider community 
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I write these Tips to encourage reflection on why we do what we do, and how this impacts on others. In this final one for the year, I’d like to reflect on how we measure success. But first let me introduce you to Keith Badger. I first met Keith in the early 1990s, when he had been a high flying, global oil company executive. He had just taken the role of Australian Managing 
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Fairfax media are currently running a series of articles that make serious accusations of unfairness against one of Australia’s largest franchisors, RFG, with claims the franchisor has ruthlessly focused its business model on its own commercial interests, at the expense of franchisee profitability. The articles also cite evidence of systemic franchisee misery in many of the 
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Prior to the funeral of a close relative, our extended family were sitting together immersed in thought. While it was a sad time, several young people were smiling as they texted on their phones. I quietly suggested this might not be appropriate and they popped the phones away. Ten minutes later the tapping and grinning had recommenced. These are good kids and I knew they w 
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In my early 20s, while completing my psychology degree, I lived in a small flat attached to the Yoga Education Centre in Melbourne, Australia. Each week over 1000 students attended classes at this Centre. In lieu of rent I assisted the Centre’s caretaker, David, with the evening routine of folding hundreds of blankets and the morning routine of cleaning the Centre’s seven b 
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I’ve just returned from the Australian National Franchise Convention on the Gold Coast. Each elevator in the resort had a comfortable leather seat at the back. It’s an unusual but nice touch. On the second evening of the Convention, when going up to my room on the 17th floor, the elevator suddenly shuddered and stopped. A red light began to flash and the lady who usually so 
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